A greatly enhanced "Overwatch" gameplay is in store for PC gamers in the weeks ahead. Blizzard will be undertaking extensive bandwidth improvements for the PC-based "Overwatch" game version, which will effectively triple the game's currently slow tick rate.
'Overwatch' Gameplay - Low Tick Rate Blamed For Some Missed Opportunities
A game's tick rate may not be much of problem for casual gamers. But, for the more competitive ones, a lower tick rate is more than just a nuisance, it could be a life and death issue - to their "Overwatch" characters at least.
In all online games, what is happening at the player's end is not really one hundred percent in sync with what is happening in the server. Aside from the usual connection speed issue, there is another factor at play called tick rate. Unfortunately, the "Overwatch" tick rate is not exactly stellar in that department.
Simply put, a tick rate is the number of times per second the game communicates with the server to update latest inputs from the player. This explains those gamer experiences where they swore they clicked fired only to learn later that they died. Their fire command did not just make it to the game's server on time; their opponent beat them to it.
At the moment, "Overwatch" tick rate is set at 21 updates per second. Compared to other online games, that is a bit low. For instance, "Counter-Strike: Global Offensive" and "Battlefield 4" have higher tick rates at around 60 per second, reports Kotaku.
'Overwatch' PC Gamers Gets Upgrade In Bandwidth
Fortunately, a greatly enhanced "Overwatch" gameplay is coming soon, to PC players at least. Blizzard recently announced that it is rolling out a global high bandwidth support for "Overwatch" PC versions in the weeks ahead.
This should solve the "Overwatch" tick rate problem, or at least make it on par with other online games. In the announcement, Blizzard confirmed that a boost in "Overwatch" gameplay is up ahead with the improvement of its tick rate.
When the high band width rollout is completed, "Overwatch" tick rate will be improved from 21 to 63 updates per second. A greatly enhanced "Overwatch" gameplay is guaranteed as the game will feel more responsive because it "reduces the amount of time between when you complete an action and when your client hears back about the result."
For now, the upgrade will only improve the "Overwatch" gameplay for PC gamers. However, similar upgrades will be undertaken soon for console gamers as well.
